To help use any extra servings, I eat left­overs almost every day at work. Unfortunately, sometimes a few odds and ends of food hide behind the milk carton and eventually need to be discarded.

Illness-causing micro-organisms such as bacteria and mould can grow and/or produce toxins in leftover food. Unfortunately, you cannot see, smell or taste most micro-organisms. We have to be guided by storage time and temperature to help avoid foodborne illness.

I am sure we do not toss one-third of our food in my house. That’s the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In Canada, the numbers are similar.

Unfortunately, we are now in the prime food-wasting season: the holiday season. During this time, the amount of food wasted increases by 25 per cent. We all can take steps to avoid food waste.

During the holiday season, we might want to embark on some early resolutions that can prevent excess food waste and save us some money in the process. We also might preserve our waistlines with some of the strategies.

If you plan to have guests during the holidays, simplify your menu and the number of different cookies, dips and side dishes that you make. Focus on your family’s favourite recipes instead of making a large number.

Perhaps a full batch of casserole is too much. You might need to trim the size of your recipes. Many recipes are easy to cut in half.

Think about potential food waste as you shop at the grocery store. You might be tempted to buy the bargain-size container of mayonnaise because it has a lower price per ounce. However, if you only need a cup of mayonnaise to make your famous artichoke dip, the remaining mayonnaise eventually outlives its shelf life. It’s not a bargain after all.

As you plan meals, spread the effort. Make holiday meals an opportunity for sharing food. Try a “theme potluck,” such as all healthy appetizers, build your own meal in a bowl or make a personalized pizza buffet. Everyone could bring a part of the menu. At the end of the meal, your guests can share the leftover food and have easy meal preparation the next day.

You can help your guests maintain their weight with a few savvy serving ideas. Use smaller plates and provide smaller serving spoons in the containers. People take less food on a smaller plate, and they serve themselves less food with a smaller serving spoon, according to researchers.

You might even want to try a little trick someone mentioned to me recently: Put a stack of “tasting spoons” on the buffet (along with a container to discard the used ones). Allow people to try the food before serving themselves a full portion.

Keep food temperature controlled during service, or replenish containers regularly. If the party will go on more than two hours, set out smaller amounts of food and keep the rest in the refrigerator. Replace the serving containers as needed. Keep salads, cut fruit and vegetables, and meat and cheese trays cold by nesting the bowls or platters in containers of ice.

Keep warm foods, such as hot wings and warm dips, in slow cookers. If you do not have small slow cookers, set out a smaller amount of food and keep the remaining food warm in the oven or on the stove.

If you know you are not going to be able to use the refrigerated leftovers within three to four days, freeze immediately in meal-sized amounts. Be sure to use appropriate freezer containers and label with the contents and date. Keep an inventory of food that’s in your freezer so you do not forget that it’s there.

If the idea of “leftovers” is not appetizing, create something completely new. How about using leftover turkey in soup, stir-fry, casseroles or sandwiches? Extra mashed potatoes can become potato soup.

Learn to create your own casserole or soup with the “Pinchin’ Pennies in the Kitchen” handouts at https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/food. Click on “Food Preparation.” Also click on “The Family Table” for dozens of ways to savour family mealtimes during the holidays and any day.

Here’s a tasty way to use leftover roasted turkey courtesy of the Midwest Dairy Association.

Cranberry Turkey Wrap

• 4 (7-inch) whole wheat flour tortillas
• 8 slices turkey breast (about 1-1/2 oz. per serving)
• 4 slices cheddar cheese (4 oz.), cut into thirds
• 1/3 c. dried cranberries
• 8 leaves parsley or fresh basil (optional)

Alternate a slice of turkey, one-third of a slice of cheddar cheese and another slice of turkey breast down the centre. Sprinkle one-fourth of the dried cranberries on top of turkey and top with cheese. Fold tortilla into thirds. Place seam-side down on microwave-safe serving plate. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Place a piece of cheese on top of each sandwich and microwave each tortilla on high for 30 seconds to one minute (until cheese melts). Cool slightly and slice in half. Place two or three dried cranberries and a sprig of parsley or basil on both halves.

Makes four servings. Each serving has 330 calories, 13 grams (g) fat, 18 g protein, 33 g carbohydrate, 3 g fibre and 750 milligrams sodium.

The post Cut food waste this holiday season appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

2-1/2 c. chicken stock

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 c. couscous

1 c. dried cranberries

1 medium zucchini, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

3 green onions, chopped

2 c. cooked chickpeas (or 1 19-oz./540-ml can)

drained and rinsed

1/4 c. canola oil, divided

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 c. fresh chopped parsley

Combine stock, turmeric, ginger and cinnamon in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in couscous, cover and let stand five minutes or until liquid has been completely absorbed. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Break up any couscous lumps with fingers. Sauté zucchini, carrots and green onions in one tablespoon of canola oil. Add sauteéd vegetables to couscous. Stir in cranberries and chickpeas. Whisk together lemon juice, remaining oil, salt and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Pour over couscous and toss together. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight. Garnish with parsley before serving.

Makes 10 servings.

Nutritional Info (per serving): 287 calories, 6 g fat, 9 g protein, 50 g carbohydrate, 4 g fibre, 0 mg cholesterol, 35 mg sodium.

– Recipe provided courtesy of Pulse Canada

If your New Year’s resolutions include eating a healthier diet, pay attention to the headlines in 2009 on how beans, peas and lentils can improve your health.

In December the Journal of the Amer ican Medical Association published results of a new study led by a Canadian researcher, showing that eating pulses as part of a low-glycemic index diet can help to control diabetes and to increase “good” cholesterol.

Foods that only slightly increase blood glucose levels fall into the category of having a low-glycemic index.

This new study is being called the strongest evidence yet of what eating pulses can do for those with Type 2 diabetes, demonstrating their “double whammy” benefit of increasing good cholesterol and reducing blood glucose levels.

The study was conducted by Dr. David Jenkins, an expert in nutrition and metabolism at the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital.

Two-hundred patients with Type 2 diabetes were assigned either a high-cereal, high-fibre diet, or a low-glycemic diet, which also included pulses as well as rice, some kinds of breads plus oatmeal and oat bran cereals. Both groups limited their consumption of white flour and ate the required 12 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

Findings show those on a low-glycemic diet, which included the pulse foods, gained the most benefits, with their hemoglobin A1C levels (a measure of blood glucose levels) dropping slightly, plus significant improvements in good cholesterol.

There’ll be more news like this in 2009. Next month Pulse Canada, a national association representing growers, processors and traders of pulse crops, will host a Pulse Health and Food Symposium in Toronto at which the latest results of several more clinical trials will be released on the health benefits of consuming pulse-based foods.

In 2006, Pulse Canada obtained funding through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to support seven clinical trials investigating the health potential in pulses.

Pulses are a perfect food in winter, when we need hearty and filling meals that provide lots of fibre and complex carbohydrates as well as vitamins and minerals. Pulses also contain virtually no fat and provide almost twice the amount of protein found in cereal grains.

If you’re looking for new ideas for cooking and eating more beans, peas and lentils in 2009 log on to the Guide to Cooking Beans, Chickpeas, Lentils and Peas found on the Pulse Canada website at www.pulsecanada.com.

The post CALLING ALL RECIPE USERS appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Manitoba Co-operator Recipe Swap

Box 1794, Carman, Man. R0G 0J0

or e-mail

lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

Barb Gyselinck, a longtime reader of the Co-operator, writes that she loves to share and collect recipes. She has kindly sent us several wonderful recipes to get the swap going. These are comfort foods perfect for the winter season now upon us. Eat well and stay warm!

WILD RICE WITH CRANBERRIES AND PECANS

1-1/2 c. wild rice

1/4 c. fresh cranberries (defrosted if frozen)

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 c. dried cranberries

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 c. pecans, toasted

3-1/2 c. chicken stock or canned broth

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

2 tsp. dried mixed herbs

Salt and pepper

Rinse the wild rice thoroughly, then soak in cold water for one hour and then drain (unless using Manomin wild rice, then soaking is unnecessary). Fry the onion and garlic in the oil in a large saucepan until softened but not brown. Add the rice to the pan and coat in the oil. Add the stock or broth and dried herbs and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for about 40 minutes. Add the fresh and dried cranberries and pecans and simmer uncovered for an additional five to 10 minutes. If any cooking liquid remains, increase the heat and boil it off. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro. Season to taste. Serve immediately while still warm, with duck, lamb or game. Alternatively, cool completely and serve as a salad.

Barb’s hint: “I soaked my rice earlier in the day and then used only about two cups of chicken broth. I used only the dried cranberries and deleted the cilantro as I don’t like that herb.”

BARB’S SCONES

3 c. flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 c. margarine or butter (cold)

1-3/4 c. buttermilk

1 egg

Sift dry ingredients and cut in the margarine. Beat egg and mix with buttermilk, add to dry ingredients and stir with fork. The mixture will be quite wet at this stage. Turn half of the dough onto a well-floured board and knead for a minute or two. Pat down and form into round and cut into 8 wedges. Repeat for second batch.

Bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes.

Alma Barkman is a frequent Winnipeg-based freelance contributor to the Country Crossroads section. She has sent us this great recipe for using oatmeal, which she describes as “a very satisfying cereal, with a soft, crumbly texture.” While you’re enjoying this, don’t forget how good it is for you too. Lots of scientific studies show the soluble fibre in oats can help lower blood cholesterol. Oatmeal also really does “stick to your ribs.” Other studies show the fibre in it can slow down digestion, which, in turn, curbs appetite. You won’t feel so hungry mid-morning after a breakfast of oatmeal.

Enjoy!

BAKED ROLLED OAT CEREAL

Mix 1/2 c. oil

3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

Add 3 c. rolled oats

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 c. milk

Bake in 8 x 8-inch pan at 350F for 30 minutes. Can be served with milk, applesauce or other fruit. Can be stored for several days in the fridge and heated in microwave as needed.

The post RECIPE SWAP – for Nov. 20, 2008 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“Another advantage of a producers’ co-op is (farm) size is not relevant.”

– GEORGE HAMILTON

COURTENAY, B. C.

Cranberries, known for their tart, sour taste, have been nothing but sweet for growers George and Geraldine Hamilton.

The Hamiltons, along with two of their three sons, Jeff and Neal, produce about two million pounds of the nutritious fruit annually from three separate farms totalling 99 acres in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.

“We chose the industry for several reasons,” George explained recently to a group of farm writers. “One was that we had the land. Secondly we had the resources. It rains here you know,” he said tongue-in-cheek as he stood sheltered from a steady, but light rain. “We use a hell of a lot of water.”

The family had no previous experience when they started with one farm in 1981.

George was a bored civil servant and his sons had some swampland. His son with a commerce degree said the land was suited for cranberries and producing them looked profitable. He was right.

Family oriented

“Why did we stay in it? Because it is family oriented; it provides a good income level and the lifestyle is marvelous. When we put these little babies to bed about the end of October we don’t do any farming until about March. Then we spend our time down in Montevideo (Uruguay).”

One might be given to believe cranberries are the fountain of youth.

George, who is articulate and witty, looks and moves like someone much younger than 80 years of age. And Geraldine, 78, is thigh deep in water harvesting cranberries.

Cranberry production averages 1,500 pounds an acre in B. C., but the Hamiltons produce “significantly more” totalling about two million pounds. At 60 cents a pound that’s a gross return of $1.2 million or $12,000 an acre.

George credits Geraldine’s horticultural prowess.

“She is one of the top producers in North America – don’t tell her that – in both quantity and quality,” George says.

George says their lack of experience allowed them to keep an open mind and try different farming methods. Other growers, who he described as being part of a family, offered lots of assistance.

Craisons

Cranberries are evergreen dwarf shrubs, or trailing vines, that grow wild in many parts of Canada and the United States, mainly in boggy areas. Commercial production takes place in bogs (peat soils), or on sand.

Cranberries are not constantly flooded. They are however, covered with about a foot of water at harvest. The vines and berries float and a machine is used to agitate the plants to separate them. Then they are pumped through pipes to a cleaning station and dropped into large wooden boxes to be shipped to Ocean Spray’s processing plant in Aberdeen, Washington.

“All our cranberries here go to craisins… because of our colouring period, which is later than most areas because we are the most northerly people in this business and secondly because we are so clean,” says George.

George has nothing but praise for Ocean Spray, a farmer-owned co-operative, that processes and markets about two-thirds of North America’s cranberry production.

“The advantage for me is I get the same price as the guy in New Jersey or wherever,” George says. “I don’t need to compete with anybody except on a bragging basis (for top yields).

“I can just be a producer. And we’re good producers. That frees me up from all the horrendous implications in processing, value added and also the problems with marketing and marketability.

“Another advantage of a producers’ co-op is (farm) size is not relevant.”

It hasn’t been all clear sailing though. A few years ago cranberries lost market share to other fruit juices and cranberry prices plunged to 11 cents a pound from 67. That’s when Ocean Spray came up with white cranberry juice (less of a stain risk) and craisins – dried cranberries sold like raisins.

Price drop

George blames “greed, indifference and stupidity,” for the drop in demand and prices.

“We just knew that it (good prices) would never end… as we sat on our derrires… and the people in the other juices were in that tremendous transition with the health movement.”

New Ocean Spray directors were elected and changes made.

“It was a wake-up call and as a result we’re better off because of it. But it’s not something that you want to do. It’s history thank God.”

Growing cranberries is profitable, but George says startup costs are high at $15,000 to $25,000 an acre; that doesn’t include the land or equipment. There’s lots of suitable land in the Comox area, that local promoters say is “relatively inexpensive” compared to other production areas like B. C.’s Fraser Valley. But at $10,000 an acre and up, it’s pricey by western Canadian standards.

Cranberry production starts with the purchase and planting of cranberry vine cuttings, which take five years to come into full production.

Controlling grass is an ongoing battle. George had an interest in an organic cranberry farm, but gave it up because it was just too hard to control the grass without herbicides.

Island advantage

Being on an island helps keep cranberries disease free, but the Hamiltons have had problems with nematodes, which took out 20 per cent of their fields on one of their farms.

“Emotionally I can’t take another one of those,” George says.

Although the Hamiltons’ production is not organic, George still considers himself an environmentalist – a posture he embraced for several reasons. One was economic. He had a cranberry farm in Oregon where he spent $2,500 an acre on chemicals a year and produced 12,500 pounds of cranberries. His wife was spending $500 an acre on chemicals and harvesting nearly twice as much.

“I became an instant environmentalist because it was financially to my advantage, as well as meeting my philosophical outlook,” he says. “So it was not a transition that was difficult for me.” allan@fbcpublishing.com

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